


The definition of Glaikit

by KryptoRed



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I know not everything I put here is confidently accurate but I will try my best, University AU, adrienette - Freeform, but first we must angst, might tag more as this progresses, mlvalentines2k20, model!juleka, no powers au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22899991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KryptoRed/pseuds/KryptoRed
Summary: They could be nothing more than friends, but sometimes her mind likes to play games with her. It plays with her by making her overthink and overthink and overthink and overthink –
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The definition of Glaikit

**Author's Note:**

> *drops this in a care package as swiftly as possible while evading questions about my lack of update on Glomp and other fics I post on Tumblr* 
> 
> **DAYS: 4 (secret admirer), 6 (crush), 8 (heartbreak), 13 (sweethearts)**

He’s a famous model who also happens to attend the same university she’s in, and of all the seats he could have taken in Composition, he chooses the one right next to her. It turns out, they have a mutual friend who sits behind her, Nino Lahiffe.

“I’m sure you know who he is Mari, but just to make it official, this here’s my best bro, Adrien.” Nino pats on said friend’s shoulder, who’s angled his body to face both of them.

“Hi.” Adrien smiles and offers her his hand.

“Hi,” she smiles back and accepts his hand. “I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you.”

“Enchanté, my lady.” He takes her hand and moves it to touch his mouth and discreetly gives it a chaste kiss, his way of hiding it from any prying eyes who’d do nothing but spread but rumours. Marinette can’t help but blush a little at the action. This one’s definitely a charmer.

They got to talking in and out of classes (they have more than one together, surprisingly), and they found themselves quite closer than they could’ve possibly imagined.

Because of his impossibly busy schedule, Adrien is absent more often than not. And if it isn’t his other classmates and friends, it’s predominantly Marinette who provides him a copy of her notes, hand-outs, and even helps him out with assignments and essays they have to do. He thinks she’s a very good friend, and she thinks that he’s a very…interesting friend.

Marinette, on her part, was never exactly the luckiest person when it comes to her love life. The first few times she ever dated, it was either she didn’t like them back enough (unfortunately, as they were actually quite nice and lovely to have for company), or things didn’t go well to begin with (a third party was never anyone’s favourite). Her experience isn’t much compared to others, but it was enough for her to put-off any sort of involvements when it comes to relationships and/or falling in love. A diagnosis of tepid, really.

But with Adrien, everyday keeps getting hard and harder to avoid the little flutters she feels inside of her. It’s when she sees him that she can’t seem to stop fidgeting – her bag strap needed some twisting. Those stray and mischievous strands of hair can’t seem to stay still behind her ear and needs some scolding. She needs to keep touching her earrings to make sure they’re still there. Her favouritepencil needs to feel the warmth of her hand, twirling and spinning That strange little lump of whatever on the knee of her jeans calls for some assaulting with her nails.

It’s with Adrien that she has to be conscious of what she’s doing every time she hears his voice nearby – Do her clothes match? Is her skirt riding up far too up? Does she have a dirty smudge on her face? Are her lips going dry and chapped? Is her hair fixed? Is she wearing matching socks? Was that gum she stepped on with her pink ballet flats?

It’s with Adrien’s texts that gets her excited whenever her phone chimes – Does he think her jokes are also funny? Is he going to understand all those typos? Will he be offended by the meme? Does he mind that her replies are interchanging between too long and too fast?

Personality-wise, Marinette thinks of herself as quite shy and friendly. Others would sometimes come up with the most unexpected, such as mysterious or mostly-keeps-to-herself. She only ever behaves more openly when surrounded by family and friends. But knowing Adrien for quite some time and developing what seems to be a crush on him, Marinette can’t help but doubt all the qualities that made her who she is today.

Is she too quiet? Can he hear her voice at all, even as they whisper to each other? Is she approaching him far too close like that Lila girl, making him uncomfortable? Is she not sharing enough about her with him to make it look as if they’re friends? Does he think her childish whenever she ties her hair into pigtails? Does he think her immature for sometimes dressing herself like a doll? Does he think her designs are good, whether they be dresses adorned with flowers or shirts and pants that fit her petite figure perfectly? Is she too self-assured by wearing her own designs?

Quiet she may be, Marinette chooses to push those doubts and worries and anxieties away. This was just Adrien, a young man who happens to catch her attention and owns a beautiful smile.

He, who happens to have the greenest of eyes and softest hair.

He, who happens to be a dork obsessed with puns and cats.

He, who happens to be smart and athletic at the same time.

He, who happens to be very friendly and doesn’t flaunt his fame and wealth.

It’s only Adrien, and maybe this crush will pass soon enough. Hopefully, it’s before he ever finds out about it, or finds that one person he’ll fall in love with that’s not her. She’d rather not have a repeat of the past. It hurt far too much, and here she was wallowing in the rabbit hole called ‘falling in love with your untouchable and unreachable friend.’

But it’s a hard thing to do – ignoring, that is – when every time Marinette tries to act normally (that she doesn’t have these kinds of feelings for him), it’s Adrien who’s giving her these strange signals.

It’s the way he smiles at her whenever she talks animatedly about everything she’s passionate about.

It’s the way he looks at her whenever they share an entirely too specific joke that only they can understand.

It’s the way he always tries to sit next to her, whether they’re eating out or just talking with their friends.

It’s the way he gets really close to her that she can feel his breath against her, even if it’s because he wants to look over her shoulder.

It’s the way he touches her gently, curious to know if he the thumb rubbing against her elbow is intentional or not.

It’s the way he chooses to lean his head against her when he’s feeling exhausted from his schedule.

It’s the way he seems to light up when he spots her in public and waving at her like a child meeting their superhero.

It’s the way how he hugs her so tightly, while she’ desperately fighting between asking for air or have him hug her tighter and longer than necessary.

They could be nothing more than friends, but sometimes her mind likes to play games with her. It plays with her by making her overthink and overthink and overthink and overthink – is she looking into it far too much, or are they real? The only way she could possibly know is if she asks him directly, and Marinette doesn’t know if she’ll be able to handle the embarrassment.

Yet, was it a heaven-sent miracle when Juleka dropped by? Juleka who not only was another mutual friend but is Adrien’s closest co-worker as a model for Gabriel.

It’s another one of those days where young adults find themselves miraculously free of any responsibilities, friends happily chattering the time away as they play ‘catch up’ and hang out in whoever’s place. This time, it’s Nino who offers his apartment.

Adrien is sitting by the kitchen island, laughing loudly at Kim’s recounting of his disastrous date with Ondine (which ended with a kiss and another date in the future, but still disastrous because it’s Kim), garnering some of the other’s attention. Marinette, on the other hand, remains seated on Nino’s director’s chair (a gift from his brother), with Juleka being her silly herself by standing in-between her friend’s legs.

The tall and dark-haired girl is wearing a black cardigan paired with a cream and black retro plaid shirt, and black round toe chunky heeled shoes with buckles. Juleka takes hold of both Marinette’s legs by the calves, holding them as she lifts them up and down while the smaller girl giggles and tries to hold on to the arm rests. The girl whose legs are being accosted is wearing a grey short-sleeved shirt, tucked neatly in her black and white polka-dotted fixed box pleat skirt reaching below her knee.

“So, how’re you and Adrien?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, there’s friends and best friends, but then there’s also you two.” Juleka walks closer to her friend, her hands now grabbing the back of her knees. “You two seem awfully close.” She smirks as if she knows something, and that something is within her approval. “You look like sweethearts.”

“You think we’re…dating or something?”

“It kinda looks like that.”

“I don’t know about that, Jules. He’s very attractive and all the good things you could ever ask for in a guy, but…” Marinette huffs and feels herself withdrawing into a shell, away from awkwardness. Juleka bends over, realizing how personal this is getting. “I don’t think it’ll ever work out.”

Juleka immediately straightens, her face embodying the definition of elated, but doesn’t say a word. She pulls Marinette by her arms a little too excitedly, and whispers to her. “That’s… I knew I was right.” She pulls her even further inside Nino’s bathroom, making sure to close the door and lock it. “I could tell that you like liked him the minute I saw you melting when he complemented your outfit.”

“W-what? When was this?”

“During Rose’s birthday.”

“Oh…”

“You looked so red, I thought you were going to combust.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Only if everyone else was looking and could tell you were blushing with all those purple and pink lights.”

“So, how’d you know?”

“Because you always clasp your hands together under your chin whenever you blush.”

Marinette bites her lower lip, worried that someone else now knew about her affections for Adrien. And it isn’t just a random someone, this is Juleka ‘I work with Adrien and is practically his sister from the moon’ Couffaine. This is not exactly bad, but also bad.

“I really don’t want anyone to know, but I guess that excludes you.”

“Oh, definitely! When are you going to ask him?”

“Ask what? To go on a date with me?” Marinette fiddles with the lucky charm turned bracelet that Adrien gave her, her back leaning on the sink. She looks down and believes it her duty to study her red mary-janes with a bow on the ankle strap.

“Well, I can definitely tell you that he likes you.”

Marinette’s heart skips a beat, or maybe two, but she definitely felt something when she hears hope whispering in her ears about a mutual attraction between her and Adrien.

“You think so?”

“Oh, I know so! I swear, you’re all he ever talks about whenever we’re on break. That guy is so smitten, he might as well turn into goo when he hears someone mention your name.” Juleka walks forward to her friend and places her hands on her shoulders. “I swear, that guy really likes you far more than he should for someone who’s just a friend.”

“but did he say it, though?”

“I… don’t know. But don’t actions speak louder than words?”

“And if he really doesn’t see me that way? What?”

“And if he does?” Juleka turns Marinette around, facing both of them in front of the mirror. She hugs her small friend from behind, swaying just a little as if they were dancing to the song of Marinette’s pounding heart. “We’ll never know – you’ll never know – until you actually talk to him.”

Marinette can only hold onto her friend’s hands, overthinking and worrying about what she’ll do.

She arrives early at the Métro and is stuck waiting for her train to arrive. She’s supposed to meet a client (or is it customer?) who reached out to her, asking to have a dress commissioned for her 16th birthday. Marinette was ecstatic and quite shocked to hear that the teen thought of getting a local and aspiring designer to make her debut dress, instead of someone far more experienced in the line of work. Renée, the girl who personally sent her an e-mail about the commission, reassured the designer that she’s actually a fan of her work and has been buying and wearing them ever since her online shop went up in public.

Marinette opted to wear a white graphic shirt underneath an open mint-green knit cardigan jacket, high-waisted denim pants, and her low-cut black converse shoes. She also made sure to carry a small backpack that could at least carry her sketchbook and pencils, among other valuables.

Just about ten minutes away before her train is supposed to arrive, another one does and opens its doors to allow some of its passengers to get off. As they do, she looks through one of the windows and sees –

‘Adrien.’

As if sensing her eyes on him, the blond looks up from his phone and waves at her from his seat. He looks radiant as always, wearing a mustard-coloured vintage shirt over a plain black shirt, black skinny jeans, and what appears to be black vans if she can trust her eyes. He waves at her and it somehow has his body swaying left and right as well, and other passengers sitting near him notices this and her (she who has his attention) find it amusing. A bit abashed at the sudden draw of attention because of him, she waves back albeit with less enthusiasm and offers him a crooked smile. This makes Adrien grin, but his waving finally stops. His mouth opens as if to say or mouth something to her, only for his train to suddenly jolt and move forward. He shrugs and waves again, this time to say good-bye. Marinette waves back but is unsure if he saw it as the window is already out of sight. Her train soon arrives and as she gets in and takes a seat next to an older man busy talking on his phone, she ponders.

She comes to a decision that she’ll be brave this time and waits until class is done. She knows he’s free for the rest of the day today, and bites her lips thinking how things will go from then. Time ticks and ticks and ticks and ticks, until she hears other students start packing up and zipping their bags, and the professor telling them that his office hours might be changed and to wait for his email.

“Adrien,” her voice quivers a little and hopes that he doesn’t hear it the like she does, “can I…talk to you for a sec?”

He’s trying to fit his laptop into his bag, but he’s attentive enough to actually look at her with a smile. “Sure. No one’s going to use this classroom after ours so, we could stay here.” He finally succeeds playing tetris with his belongings, his body relaxing as he faces her.

“Hey dudes, you coming?” Nino asks as he stands by the doorway.

“Oh, u-uh…”

“Mind if we meet you at the cafeteria later, Nino? Marinette just wants to talk to me.”

“Yeah… it’ll be quick, Nino.”

Said friend narrows his eyes in suspicion but relents anyway and shrugs as he walks out of the door. “See ya later, dudes.” The door closes, and Marinette has never felt more trapped until now. And probably, maybe a little suffocated.

“You wanted to talk to me, Mari?”

“Year, I mean yeah.” She looks at him and can’t help but admire how handsome he looks, even in just a Christmas tree green knit sweater over a light blue plaid collared long sleeve shirt, and jeans. He places his hands on the desk behind him as he leans on it.

“You look good, by the way. Your dress is just as good as everything you’ve designed, Marinette.” she feels proud that he has his approval: a high neck and asymmetrically flared dress in navy blue floral patterns, long dolman sleeves, and belted at the waist. She also has black tights on to keep her legs warm. The weather was slowly getting colder.

“Thanks. Appreciate it.” Her hands find each other, fingers fidgeting and pinching the other. She struggles to look at him directly without making a mistake. “Okay, listen…” her hands distract themselves further by playing with the belt. “You’re an amazing person, Adrien. Sometimes I ask myself I’m dreaming for being this lucky to be a part of your life. And for a while, I’ve been feeling things that made me act strange around you. I just kept ignoring and denying it, until I just couldn’t. But now, I have to be honest with myself, and more importantly with you. I’m really glad we met, or that you chose the seat beside me. I’m also glad that we got to be friends and know each other even more.” She takes a deep breath and continues. “I like talking to you, I like laughing at your jokes, I like when you smile at just about everything, I like how you could go on talking about your cat, I like how you’re so kind to everyone even if some don’t deserve it, I like making my notes for you in class with little doodles to encourage you, I like spending time with you, but most of all,” she walks close to him, leaving only but a few inches of space between them. “I really reallylike you, Adrien.” She looks up at him, and she cups his cheeks as she stands on her toes and leans and kisses him.

She kisses him gently like how a snowflake touches your nose, how a cat gently pats you with their paw in reassurance, or how a ladybug’s little legs kiss the leaf it lands on. She kisses him gently, and it only lasts for a few seconds.

She lets him go, but her brows furrow when she sees the shock painted on his face. His mouth slowly opens, his eyes trailing to her, and his right hand goes to cover his mouth. The very same mouth she just kissed. He stays silent for one, two, three, four, five seconds. Marinette steps back in realization.

“M-Marinette. I…I didn’t…I don’t…” his eyes fail to maintain contact with hers, instead looking everywhere else that isn’t her. He misses how embarrassment turns to guilt turns to shame turns to hurt turns to sadness on her face, but never anger. Adrien does not deserve anger if he doesn’t like her. Not like that. And maybe never like that. So, Marinette overthinks and overthinks and overthinks and overthinks – before she hurriedly grabs her belongings and heads for the door. Adrien doesn’t seem to be moving or even aware of the state she’s in when she looks back at him. It’s as if he doesn’t want to look at her, but she knows what his lack of response means. Actions speak louder than words, she remembers Juleka telling her. “I’m sorry, I just thought…” she swallows the lump in her throat and looks everywhere that’s not him to keep the tears at bay. What exactly did she think? “Just forget it.” She leaves without a good-bye, but wonders if tomorrow is the start of unfriendliness and distance and silence between them. The opposite of everything they had until now. The door shuts, and Adrien still refuses to move.

Nino later receives a text from Marinette, saying she had to leave because she forgot to do an errand (which is to cry her heart out for being foolish and ambitious), while Adrien is lost in his thoughts.


End file.
